Moderating steering wheel heat

My Nissan Leaf Forum

Help Support My Nissan Leaf Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
T

tgeliot

Well-known member
Joined
May 26, 2017
Messages
53
I find that when I use the heated steering wheel on my new-to-me 2015 SV, I am forever turning the wheel heat on and off. It gets uncomfortably hot when just left on. I understand that it's supposed to be thermostatically controlled; I suppose that could be stuck in the "on" position.

Has anyone ever tried to modify their car to provide a knob to turn the steering wheel heat up and down?
 
tgeliot said:
I find that when I use the heated steering wheel on my new-to-me 2015 SV, I am forever turning the wheel heat on and off. It gets uncomfortably hot when just left on. I understand that it's supposed to be thermostatically controlled; I suppose that could be stuck in the "on" position.

Has anyone ever tried to modify their car to provide a knob to turn the steering wheel heat up and down?
Click to expand...


No. There are several topics on this, and the only way to moderate the heat is to turn the heat off before it shuts off automatically. This "short cycling" allows you to turn it back on whenever needed, because there is no delay if it hasn't reached its max temperature. Using a rheostat is an interesting idea, but I suspect it would be harder than it sounds to implement.
 
I have a friend who is a genuine electrical engineer. I'm going to ask him if he can design a simple circuit that would cycle the power to the steering wheel on and off say once a second, with adjustable duty cycle.
 
Most people complain that the heated steering wheel does not heat enough...

I have always found that the steering wheel heats up well in the first 10 minutes, and then turns off. There is no control to continue the heating. Other than turn it off and on??
 
Correct. There is a cool down period of several minutes or more if it turns off on its own. There is no such wait if you turn it off while it's still heating.
 
tgeliot said:
I find that when I use the heated steering wheel on my new-to-me 2015 SV, I am forever turning the wheel heat on and off. It gets uncomfortably hot when just left on. I understand that it's supposed to be thermostatically controlled; I suppose that could be stuck in the "on" position.

Has anyone ever tried to modify their car to provide a knob to turn the steering wheel heat up and down?
Click to expand...

I think if you waited long enough you'd find it would eventually turn off, right before your fingers melt to the steering wheel :shock: then it would get almost cold before starting all over. If you can find something simple to give a more warm all the time solution, it would sure be nice. This has been going on since '11 and every year Nissan fails to address it, it's like they just don't care, never use their products and don't read sites such as this :roll:
Note I believe I've read the most recent Leafs may have finally addressed it but I'm not positive.
 
LeftieBiker said:
I think that a simpler way would be (via a resistor?) to tell the existing relay that the shutoff temp has been reached while it is actually lower.
Click to expand...
Could well be, I haven't even tried to look up a circuit diagram. Are such diagrams available? I have to admit I'm spoiled from working on my motorcycle, where I have diagrams for everything on both paper and electronically. And sometimes they're even accurate. :lol:
 
powersurge said:
Most people complain that the heated steering wheel does not heat enough...

I have always found that the steering wheel heats up well in the first 10 minutes, and then turns off. There is no control to continue the heating. Other than turn it off and on??
Click to expand...

Yeah, I've only had this car a couple of weeks, and I live in Denver. Contrary to popular belief, winters are pretty mild here. Those folks in the upper midwest or Canada are dealing with a lot colder weather.
 
jjeff said:
tgeliot said:
I find that when I use the heated steering wheel on my new-to-me 2015 SV, I am forever turning the wheel heat on and off. It gets uncomfortably hot when just left on. I understand that it's supposed to be thermostatically controlled; I suppose that could be stuck in the "on" position.

Has anyone ever tried to modify their car to provide a knob to turn the steering wheel heat up and down?
Click to expand...

I think if you waited long enough you'd find it would eventually turn off, right before your fingers melt to the steering wheel :shock: then it would get almost cold before starting all over. If you can find something simple to give a more warm all the time solution, it would sure be nice. This has been going on since '11 and every year Nissan fails to address it, it's like they just don't care, never use their products and don't read sites such as this :roll:
Note I believe I've read the most recent Leafs may have finally addressed it but I'm not positive.
Click to expand...

They must have addressed this issue because my '18 SL the steering wheel heater never shuts off on its own & I have not needed to shut it off when the ambient weather is below 50F due to the wheel being too hot to comfortably hold.
 
HerdingElectrons said:
jjeff said:
tgeliot said:
I find that when I use the heated steering wheel on my new-to-me 2015 SV, I am forever turning the wheel heat on and off. It gets uncomfortably hot when just left on. I understand that it's supposed to be thermostatically controlled; I suppose that could be stuck in the "on" position.

Has anyone ever tried to modify their car to provide a knob to turn the steering wheel heat up and down?
Click to expand...

I think if you waited long enough you'd find it would eventually turn off, right before your fingers melt to the steering wheel :shock: then it would get almost cold before starting all over. If you can find something simple to give a more warm all the time solution, it would sure be nice. This has been going on since '11 and every year Nissan fails to address it, it's like they just don't care, never use their products and don't read sites such as this :roll:
Note I believe I've read the most recent Leafs may have finally addressed it but I'm not positive.
Click to expand...

They must have addressed this issue because my '18 SL the steering wheel heater never shuts off on its own & I have not needed to shut it off when the ambient weather is below 50F due to the wheel being too hot to comfortably hold.
Click to expand...
Just to be clear, the steering wheel doesn't shut off per se, it just cycles off after it gets extremely warm, then gets cool, then cycles back on and gets very warm again. Note the steering wheel heater does turn off by itself, I'm not sure if it's every so many starts or maybe time based but living in MN in the winter I NEVER turn the steering wheel heater off but occasionally I'll notice it's been cold for a longer than normal time and look down and the damn light is OFF! and I know I nor anyone else turned it off :x
 
They must have addressed this issue because my '18 SL the steering wheel heater never shuts off on its own & I have not needed to shut it off when the ambient weather is below 50F due to the wheel being too hot to comfortably hold.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it has been changed as of 2018. Since I always wear gloves in colder weather, I kind of miss the too-hot part of the cycle, as it served to warm my gloved hands at the start of a drive.
 
HerdingElectrons said:
They must have addressed this issue because my '18 SL the steering wheel heater never shuts off on its own & I have not needed to shut it off when the ambient weather is below 50F due to the wheel being too hot to comfortably hold.
Click to expand...

Nice to hear.
 
I sometimes miss the extreme heat of the 2015 steering wheel when first turned on, but the moderate heat of the 2019 and no need to manually cycle it on/off is more convenient. The 2019 does turn itself completely off after about 30 minutes so you may need to touch the button once to turn it back on if you have a long commute in cold weather.
 
All Nissan would have to have done is do what people have asked since the first Leafs almost a decade ago......have a high/low setting instead of a dumb on/off switch :idea: just one of the many things that prove Nissan is basically clueless on what people want! like they've never heard of a forum or care to even look :(
 

Similar threads

B
Heating, seat and steering wheel
Replies
6
Views
1K
BradBarger
B
W
2012 Leaf won't start and all kinds of warning lights
Replies
5
Views
1K
cornbinder89
C
G
Dome light very dim when door open / not turning on when car running
Replies
8
Views
413
rrip
R
T
2012 Leaf Heating Issue
Replies
3
Views
1K
jjeff
J
L
Heat options - seat, steering wheel, failed PTC heater
Replies
13
Views
3K
GerryAZ
G

Latest posts

Back
Top